Abstract:
Lyssaviruses remain a global public health threat, creating a need for broadly neutralizing antibodies for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). We evaluated SYN023, a humanized monoclonal antibody cocktail, by comparing authentic-virus and pseudovirus neutralization, validating epitope predictions in a canine PEP model using the virulent New York City (NYC) rabies virus strain, and assessing activity against diverse non-RABV lyssaviruses. Authentic-virus and pseudovirus results correlated strongly (R² = 0.83, P < 0.0001), supporting the pseudovirus assay as a reliable surrogate. Conservation of the SYN023 epitopes in the NYC strain correctly predicted protection: survival was 100% at 0.5 mg/kg and 83% at 0.3 and 0.1 mg/kg, versus 0% in controls. SYN023 also neutralized a broad panel of non-RABV lyssaviruses. Notably, it neutralized Mokola virus (EC?? = 14.74 µg/mL), whereas other commercialized anti-rabies mAbs showed no detectable activity at up to 1,000 µg/mL. These findings support SYN023 as a broad-spectrum candidate for next-generation lyssavirus PEP.
Biography:
Dr. Eric Tsao has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Synermore Biologics since the founding of the company in 2013. He has over 25 years of industrial experience with Johnson and Johnson, AstraZeneca, and Morningside Group. His areas of expertise include biological product development, process design, facility engineering, and operations. Dr. Tsao received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan.
